This application proposes a five year educational program at Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A and M University System (BCD) for Dr. Jill Peterson. This program will combine Ph.D. studies in Biomedical Sciences concentrating in craniofacial biology with concurrent clinical training leading to a certificate in Endodontics. Dr. Peterson is now completing a DDS at BCD and a Masters Degree in Public Health at the University of North Texas. Dr. Peterson's ultimate goal is a career in dental research and academic dentistry. Her research interests overlap between the areas of craniofacial biology and the biology and biomechanics of bone and mineralized tissues. BCD offers advanced research training leading to a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences with concentrations in craniofacial biology or stomatology. The Ph.D. program is specifically designed to train postgraduate dentists who seek careers in dental research and academic dentistry, and is tailored to allow joint certification in most clinical specialities. The Endodontics program is an integrated program of biological sciences and clinical skills, which allows flexibility in content and duration for students pursuing joint research degrees. A tentative research proposal is outlined, which will be modified during the third year of the award, prior to the conducting of the research during the fourth and fifth years. The research will address hypotheses concerning the effects of tooth loss on the biomechanics of craniofacial bone and the ramifications for tooth retention. Specifically, differential effects of edentulation on the mechanical properties, structure, and biomechanics of the craniofacial skeleton will be contrasted between all regions, including: (1) areas of the midfacial skeleton where cortical bone is highly stressed during oral function, (2) areas of the upper face and cranial vault where cortical bone is only subject to low strain, and (3) areas of masticatory and nuchal muscle attachment. Contrasts will be made between crania with moderately and severely resorbed edentulous maxillae, and dentate maxillae. Techniques will include various methods of measurement of material properties of bone, hard tissue histology, biomechanics, and advanced finite element modeling.